Elizabeth Kenny Quotes
It's better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life.
This has been attributed to Mussolini, most recently when this quote was tweeted by Donald Trump who was accused of repeating the words of the fascist dictator. This phrase was first used as a slogan by Italian solders in 1918 at the Battle of the Piave River during World War I. It was also written on the walls of many homes in the area to encourage each other during the battle.
Sister Elizabeth Kenny was a self-trained Australian bush nurse who developed a new approach for treating victims of poliomyelitis, which was controversial at the time. Her method, which she promoted internationally while working in Australia, Europe and the United States, differed from the then conventional medical practice which called for placing affected limbs in plaster casts. Instead Kenny applied hot compresses to affected parts of patients' bodies followed by passive movement of those areas to reduce what she called "Spasm". Kenny's principles of muscle rehabilitation became the foundation of physical therapy, or physiotherapy.
